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A Unique Mother’s Day Gift Guide for all the Young Moms, Busy Ladies, and Older Women
Let’s be clear from the beginning—not many women want cooking or cleaning gifts for Mother’s Day. Nothing says, “Now you have a better tool to clean up after us!” like an upright dirt sucker. Bleh. Unless of course she’s been drooling over the latest Dyson…. Between wanting to be sensitive and thoughtful, gifts can get tricky. Not too old-fashioned, not too freaky modern, not too impersonal. So what in the world do you get moms these days, especially the ones who already seem to have it all? Here’s a list to help, divided into three categories: They’re all from Amazon, have free shipping with Prime, and have fantabulous ratings. Because…
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When You Stand to Teach & Sit Back Down Taught: Unexpected Lessons in the Trees
Have you ever returned from a conference re-energized, motivated, and encouraged? Wide-eyed, focused, and ready to make some big changes? And then reality sets in and you hit a wall? The Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference always does that for me. Could be any type of conference though. Marriage Retreat: Day 1: I’m going to be way nicer to him now. I don’t care anymore if he leaves clothes all over the floor and forgets to put his dishes in the dishwasher. I’m just grateful to be married. Day 2: Again? I can’t even get to the dishwasher to clean up after him without walking on clothes. I am not…
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Sunday Night Sadness: 8 Ways I Prepare to Beat the Monday Morning Blues
I assumed it was just me. Then a friend commented how she doesn’t enjoy Sunday evenings because it’s like the fun party she knows is coming to an end. Her mind vacillates between enjoying the evening and dreading the next morning filled with work, chores, errands, and crazy. Coming in the door from church always gets my brain playing tug-o-war too. But I get giddy when I remember how Sunday is the only day of the week I read, watch something, and nap with zero guilt. If that sounds impossible to implement in your life, believe me… I wasn’t always this way. For a Type-A human with a strong “keep…
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Two Cops & a Black Eye: Our Up Close & Personal Encounter with Physical Abuse
Living in Mexico brought a ton of unusual, funny, memorable experiences. Even the hard times sound like a picnic compared to the night the cops dropped off an unexpected guest. Our large property consisted of five double-wide mobile homes, a fire pit, trash and tool hut, huge water tank, fig and pomegranate trees, laundry lines, small patch of grass, and enough parking for about 25 cars. Some locals knew exactly why we were there, and others had no clue. Like all the other nights, I stood in our double-wide, all jammied up and cozy, brushing my teeth in peace. Between spits I saw lights flashing through our small bathroom window,…
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Creating an Organized New Year: The 3 Best Places in Your Home & How to Start
If you’re assuming this post is all about turning your whole house upside down and starting over, you can exhale now. This isn’t for the expert organizer, the detailed filer who never has a paper out of place, or the housekeeper who scrubs with a magnifying glass and Q-tips. And all the normal people said amen. But… it is definitely not too early to think about spring cleaning. I’m guessing I’m not the only one who’s wondered, Wow… it would be so much easier to clean around less stuff. Let’s back this train up though. First of all… Feliz Año Nuevo! I realize new beginnings aren’t everyone’s cup of chai, but…
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Christmas Eve Chaos: The One Where We Went to Church Dirty and Avoided Our Friends
The morning of Christmas Eve 2019 in NorCal started like any other: frosty, sparkly, and bulging with practical anticipation. But the way it ended messed with my mind pride in ways I didn’t think possible. Without fail, every Christmas Eve of my whole life consisted of the same things: nice clothes, hair-sprayed hair, and a calmness about the impending church service. Cramming into as few cars as possible with aunts, uncles and grandparents, we drove the rainy or snowy roads to a large church and settled in. I was always happy to see people we knew, especially since we smelled great and looked put together. We chose seats toward the…
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Hosting or Being Hosted: Helpful Ideas to Get Your Heart & Home Thanksgiving Ready
We interrupt our regularly scheduled program to bring you… your relatives. Raise your hand if you’re prepped and organized for Thanksgiving. It’s okay… most people aren’t. You’ve got this though. You’re stronger than you think, you can juggle more than you realize, and I have some tips. Depending on your hosting situation, I’ve crafted three possible scenarios. And within each of those, I’m giving you different levels of being ready. Pick and choose according to your home, drunk uncles, and level of crazy that’s on its way. 1. They’re Only Coming for Dinner If you were raised in a casa where your parents regularly hosted Thanksgiving, good news! Having people…
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Starting the Fall Season with Non-Annoying Orange Autumn Items for All You Undercover Pumpkin Spice Fans
If you live in my area of SoCal, you know it doesn’t exactly feel like fall yet. With temps still bouncing into the 80s this week, I can barely wear shoes much less think about sipping hot cider. But autumn’s comin’! I gathered these items with my faithful readers in mind. (That’s you!) Most of us aren’t hard-core pumpkin spice fans, but most people love pumpkin something. Are you a low-key, undercover pumpkin spice fan? I get it. Do you occasionally dabble with pumpkin spice in the kitchen? Same here. Maybe you cringe at shirts that say “Live, Laugh, Love Pumpkin Spice” or “My Blood Type is Pumpkin Spice” or…
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A Neighborhood Divided: Years of Friends, Months of Loss, Weeks of Grief
When we moved out of Baja and back to Cali, I wasn’t what you’d call… excited. Besides the whole experience feeling anti-climactic (we already lived in SoCal once), track houses aren’t really my jam. Apparently, the neighborhood cookie-cutter fairy put all of our floor plans on a blueprint and the creativity stopped after five. Five similar shapes, five coordinating paint schemes, and that was it. Match-y match-y ain’t my style. Plus, I didn’t see a whole lot of ministry taking place between getting the mail and pulling in trashcans. I don’t mean to sound like a whiner. I’m truly grateful for Model #3 to call home and know millions around…
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Yellow Lights, Red Flags: Warning Signs That Help Keep Our Noisy Lives in Check
I ran a big fat yellow light this week. Actually, if you must know, it looked a tad orange. How a human brain can go back and forth that many times in a matter of 1.8 seconds is beyond me, but there I was: Slow down. Punch it. I’m good. This isn’t good. Cops? No cops. I got this. I don’t got this. Gahhh! Don’t judge. I’m guessing you’ve been in an orange light situation at some point, yes? Those split-second decisions don’t exactly give me time to wrangle my best drawl, sing Jesus Take the Wheel and then wait for Him to move. Most of the time I’m relying…
